Author: Margot Lee Shetterly
A Door Opens – Summary
In 1943, the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory urgently needed to hire hundreds of junior physicists, mathematicians, assistant computers, apprentices, helper trainees, stenographers, and typists to support the war effort. Every morning, personnel officer Melvin Butler and his staff collected new recruits from local transportation hubs and brought them to the laboratory. Despite rapidly expanding the facility and hiring more employees, the laboratory remained constantly overwhelmed by the demands of the war effort. The laboratory was located on the campus of Langley Field, a military air base, and had a close relationship with the army flyers, which served as a constant reminder to the engineers that their experiments had real-world implications. The laboratory operated wind tunnels and hangars where technicians maintained and repaired planes.
During World War II, President Roosevelt challenged America to produce 50,000 airplanes per year, which seemed impossible for an industry that had only provided 90 planes a month just a few years before. However, America’s aircraft industry became the largest, most productive, and sophisticated industry in the world, outproducing Germany by three times and Japan by nearly five. Engineers at the Langley laboratory tested and improved airplane designs to make them faster and more efficient, and mathematicians, many of whom were women, helped process the numerical data. The success of the aircraft industry was crucial to winning the war, and the contribution of women mathematicians helped boost the laboratory’s efficiency.
During World War II, Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory struggled to find enough qualified women to work as computers, mathematicians, and other positions. They turned to colleges and universities, and even placed ads in local newspapers, to recruit women. Additionally, pressure from A. Philip Randolph and his demand that black Americans be given access to profitable war jobs helped open up new opportunities for qualified black women. As a result, applications from qualified black female candidates began to filter into Langley, and their alma maters indicated that they were just as qualified as their white counterparts, if not more so.
In 1943, Melvin Butler knew that if they wanted to hire black women as professional peers at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, they would need a separate space and a white girl to lead them. He found a new building where they could work and engineers welcomed the additional help. There were concerns about integrating Negro women into Langley’s offices, but Butler discreetly worked towards this goal. No one predicted that the hiring of black female mathematicians would lead to great aeronautical advances, electronic devices, and changes in women’s work and civil rights. In 1943, the priority was the urgent needs of the present, and Butler added a metal bathroom sign for “colored girls.”
Active Themes
Racism and Inequality:
The Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory struggled to find qualified black women to work as computers and mathematicians during World War II. A. Philip Randolph’s pressure to give black Americans access to profitable war jobs helped open up new opportunities for qualified black women. The process of integrating Negro women into Langley’s offices was discreet, and a separate building was needed. Melvin Butler added a metal bathroom sign for “colored girls” in 1943.
Community:
The Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory had a close relationship with the army flyers who served as a constant reminder to the engineers that their experiments had real-world implications. Every morning, personnel officer Melvin Butler and his staff collected new recruits from local transportation hubs and brought them to the laboratory. Additionally, Langley turned to colleges and universities and placed ads in local newspapers to recruit women.
Luck, Persistent Action, and Hard Work:
Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory urgently needed to hire hundreds of junior physicists, mathematicians, assistant computers, apprentices, helper trainees, stenographers, and typists to support the war effort. Despite rapidly expanding the facility and hiring more employees, the laboratory remained constantly overwhelmed by the demands of the war effort. America’s aircraft industry became the largest, most productive, and sophisticated industry in the world, outproducing Germany by three times and Japan by nearly five. Engineers at the Langley laboratory tested and improved airplane designs to make them faster and more efficient, and mathematicians, many of whom were women, helped process the numerical data.
Scientific Progress vs. Social and Political Progress:
The success of the aircraft industry during World War II was crucial to winning the war, and the contribution of women mathematicians helped boost the laboratory’s efficiency. However, there were concerns about integrating Negro women into Langley’s offices, and Melvin Butler discreetly worked towards this goal. In 1943, the priority was the urgent needs of the present, and a metal bathroom sign for “colored girls” was added. No one predicted that the hiring of black female mathematicians would lead to great aeronautical advances, electronic devices, and changes in women’s work and civil rights.
Questions
1. What are some reasons for wanting more mathematicians at Langley in the early 1940s?
There were several reasons for wanting more mathematicians at Langley in the early 1940s, including:
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- The United States had entered World War II, and Langley was heavily involved in developing new technologies to support the war effort. This required a large workforce of mathematicians and engineers to perform complex calculations and develop new designs.
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- The demand for aviation had increased, and Langley was conducting research on new aircraft designs and technologies. This required a skilled workforce to perform calculations and analyze data.
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- The development of the jet engine was underway, and Langley was playing a critical role in developing and testing new engines. This required mathematicians and engineers to perform complex calculations and analyze data to improve engine performance.
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- The field of aeronautics was expanding rapidly, and there was a need for more trained mathematicians and engineers to support this growth.
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- Langley had a mission to advance the science of aviation and space exploration, and having a skilled workforce of mathematicians was essential to achieving this mission.
2. In what ways was Melvin Butler, the personnel officer at Langley, progressive in his hiring practices? In what ways was he restricted by convention? Do you think he did the best he could under the circumstances?
Melvin Butler, the personnel officer at Langley, was progressive in his hiring practices in several ways. He recognized the potential of African American women as mathematicians and was willing to hire them despite the prevailing attitudes of the time. He also worked to recruit talented individuals from historically black colleges and universities, recognizing that these institutions often produced highly qualified graduates who had been overlooked by other employers.
Butler was also restricted by convention in several ways. He had to navigate the racial prejudices and discriminatory practices of the time, which limited the opportunities available to African Americans. For example, African American employees at Langley were often paid less than their white counterparts and were excluded from certain areas of the facility. Despite these challenges, it can be argued that Butler did the best he could under the circumstances.
Overall, while there may have been more that Butler could have done to promote equality and inclusion, given the circumstances, he was progressive in his hiring practices and made a significant contribution to advancing the careers of African American mathematicians at Langley.
3. Who is A. Philip Randolph and how does he help build the workforce at Langley?
A. Philip Randolph (1889 – 1979) was a prominent civil rights leader and labor organizer who played a key role in helping to build the workforce at Langley during World War II. Randolph was the president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, a labor union that represented African American workers on the Pullman Company’s sleeping cars.
In 1941, Randolph proposed a march on Washington to protest discrimination in the defense industry and the armed forces. The proposal was successful in pressuring President Franklin D. Roosevelt to issue Executive Order 8802, which prohibited discrimination in defense industries and government and created the Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC) in June 25, 1941 to enforce the order.
As a result of Randolph’s efforts, Langley began to hire more African American workers, including women, and to promote them to higher positions. This led to the hiring of many talented African American mathematicians, including Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughan, who would go on to make significant contributions to the field of aeronautics and space exploration. Overall, Randolph played an important role in helping to build a more diverse and inclusive workforce at Langley during a time of great need.
4. What is meant by the title of the chapter, ‘A Door Opens’?
The title of the chapter, ‘A Door Opens,’ refers to the opening up of new opportunities for black women at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory during World War II. Previously, the laboratory had struggled to find enough qualified women to work in various positions, including as computers and mathematicians. However, pressure from civil rights leader A. Philip Randolph and the urgent needs of the war effort helped open up new opportunities for qualified black women. Melvin Butler, a personnel officer at the laboratory, worked towards integrating black women into the workforce and found a new building where they could work. Despite concerns about integration, the engineers at the laboratory welcomed the additional help, and the black women made significant contributions to the war effort. The opening up of these opportunities for black women represented a significant milestone in the fight for civil rights and paved the way for future progress.
Important names mentioned in chapter 1
A. Philip Randolph: A prominent African American civil rights leader who founded the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and was a key figure in the civil rights movement of the 20th century.
Melvin Butler: A personnel officer at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory during World War II who was responsible for recruiting and hiring junior physicists, mathematicians, and other support staff for the war effort.
Franklin D. Roosevelt: The 32nd president of the United States who led the country through the Great Depression and World War II.
Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory: A research center established by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in 1917 that played a key role in advancing aviation technology and supporting the war effort during World War II. The center was later renamed the NASA Langley Research Center.
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